Olivia Munn's ‘X-Men' Workouts Were About Feeling Strong—Not Skinny

The action star looks good so she can feel great.

When actress Olivia Munn lost 12 pounds while filming X-Men: The Apocolypse, the Internet exploded with accusations that she'd had taken unhealthy measures to achieve her new physique. In reality, Olivia sculpted her new bod the old-fashioned way: with healthy eating and exercise.

“My intention was to just get as fit and as healthy as I could be, for myself,” Olivia told us at her Women's Health cover shoot . “By the time I was finished [filming], I was 12 pounds less than I started!...It’s a big difference because I started working out every single day, and then I also started getting into eating 20-80, where 80 percent of your diet is fruits and vegetables and 20 percent is whatever.”

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Olivia grew up practicing taekwondo, even earning a black belt in the sport. She says that getting back into it, and learning how to train with a sword for X-Men, was “really empowering.”

Check out our full interview with Olivia at her June cover shoot:

Olivia is also no stranger to speculation and criticism over her beauty routine. “I think...when you’re in the public eye, [scrutiny] does come with it," she says. "People want to say things... My girlfriend, she said to me the other day, ‘If people are wondering why you look younger, it’s better than them asking why do you look older.’”

But she's always willing to dish. “A lot of times, people want to hoard their secrets to themselves. But whenever I learn things now...I want to tell anyone who wants to listen about them, because I don’t think guys are the only ones who should be able to look better as they age.”

Learn about Olivia Munn’s thoughts on financial stability, mental health, and speaking up for herself in the June issue of Women's Health, on newsstands May 24.

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